Perfume and Promises
by LGCoffeeAddict
Summary: There was a crack in Addison's smile as she asked, "Who would have thought you would turn out to be the nice guy?" I could not get enough of that scene between Addison and Pete. I had to have more. So I made more. Try to find the reason I named it P&P!
1. Chapter 1

**Perfume and Promises**

A **Private Practice** fic by Gigi

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except Season 1 on DVD.

Chapter 1: Perfume and Promises

**A/N: Hey guys. Another story. I was re-watching the season 2 finale, and I could not get enough of that scene between**

There was a crack in Addison's smile as she asked, "Who would have thought you would turn out to be the nice guy?"

Pete wiped off the solitary tear running down her cheek, almost as if she was too tired to cry anymore, before staring off into space. "Not Violet," he answered, depressed.

Addison looked over at her companion, placing her hand on top of his hands, which clasped with her other hand. He was really disappointed that Violet turned him down. She put her head on his shoulder.

"Do you love her?" Addison asked. She squeezed Pete's hands to let him know he could confide in her.

"I don't know anymore," Pete sighed. "I told her I did, but I think I may have said that in a last-ditch effort to not lose another person here."

Addison raised her head. "Who else did you lose?"

Pete fixed his gaze on the redheaded woman sitting next to him. "I never told you this, but do you remember that day the cop came to visit you at work and I told you to go for it?"

Addison nodded, remembering their conversation and how disappointed she'd felt when he told her to accept the cop's offer. "What about it?"

"That night I stood on your porch for two hours, waiting for you to come home so I could make it up to you for being such a screw up. I wanted to tell you why I stood you up, that it had nothing to do with you at all. But you never came home." Pete saw a hint of guilt flash in Addison's eyes. "What?"

"Nothing, I just wish I had come home earlier. I was on a date with Kevin," Addison confessed. "If I knew you were at my house, I would have come home sooner. You know that." Addison thought for a moment before speaking again. "And you didn't lose me."

Pete smiled, knowing she was referring to their comfortably close friendship. After a few minutes of silence, he repeated her question. "Do you love him?"

Addison didn't hesitate in answering, "No. Not enough to break up a family."

Pete caught the slip. "But you love him a little?"

It took a bit longer for her to answer this time. "I honestly can't tell. I might love him a little, but it might just be blind lust. It has been a while since I've, well, you know."

"So, long story short, we're both a couple of confused idiots who can't sort out our feelings?" Pete confirmed, smiling a little bit.

Addison let out a hollow laugh. "I guess so." She put her head back on Pete's shoulder and closed her eyes. "Can we just stay here for a little bit longer?"

Pete rested his head against hers comfortably and also closed his eyes. "We can stay like this for as long as you want."

**8D**

Pete opened his eyes to a dark office. Squinting at the clock, he realized he had fallen asleep for four hours--and that Addison was lying on top of him.

"Addison," he whispered, shaking her arm softly. "Addison, wake up. We fell asleep."

Addison's head jerked up, slurping up the bit of drool that was threatening to fall on Pete's shirt. "What time is it?" she asked groggily.

"Two-thirty in the morning," Pete answered.

Addison suddenly erected herself from her lazy position, pushing her body up with her arms and effectively straddling Pete's body in the process, to peer out the window of the office, looking for and finding a blinking light at the end of the hall. "Damn it. The alarm is on."

"Do you know the code?" Pete asked, trying not to let Addison onto the fact that he could see right down her dress, especially since her chest almost touched his face. She failed to realize that she was making it very difficult for Pete to remain a gentleman.

"No. Only Dell and Naomi know the code. We'll set it off if we open the door to my office. We're stuck here until morning," Addison declared with a heavy sigh, her chest rising and falling anxiously.

Pete finally gave up ignoring her breasts. "Um, Addison? It may be dark, but it's definitely light enough for me to see what's going on under your dress when it hangs down like that."

Addison's hand shot up to press the neckline of the dress to her chest, laughing as she moved back down so she could see Pete's expression. The moonlight filtered in through the window, settling on the curves of Addison's face, and for a single moment, Pete wondered why he hadn't fought for her.

Addison must have seen something in Pete's eyes, because her laughter died off. Thoughts flew through Addison's head, regretting her decision to cut Pete out of her love life after he didn't show, wishing she hadn't always counted on keeping her heart safe.

For the first time in almost a year, Addison decided to throw caution to the wind. She stopped looking for commitment, for marriage. She just did what she wanted for once and not what she thought she should want at her age.

She kissed him.

**A/N: So what do you think? Please review!**


	2. Minuet

**Perfume and Promises**

A **Private Practice** fic by Gigi

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except Season 1 on DVD.

Chapter 2: Minuet

**A/N: In case you haven't noticed, my chapters will be named after Idina Menzel songs. So! I'm really excited about the response to this fic, and it made me want to go ahead and write the next chapter so here you go! Lots of thanks to my "unbiased adviser," Natalie, and to my amazing beta, Michaela!**

_For the first time in almost a year, Addison decided to throw caution to the wind. She stopped looking for commitment, for marriage. She just did what she wanted for once and not what she thought she should want at her age._

_She kissed him._

Pete's eyes widened with surprise as Addison's lips touched his softly, tentatively. She pulled away after a few seconds, biting her bottom lip as she tried to gage his reaction. She opened her mouth to say something, but Pete preempted her by reaching for her neck and bringing her face to his for a pure, searing kiss.

Relief flashed in Addison's eyes before she let them drift shut lazily, losing herself in the kiss. Her elbows buckled, leaving her flush against Pete as his lips ravaged hers. So many things were going through her mind when he pulled her even closer, but all Addison could concentrate on were Pete's strong hands as they started to slide down her body, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake.

Those strong hands began slowly unzipping her dress, and Addison focused on sliding Pete's fitted t-shirt off his body. When she finally succeeded, Addison couldn't help but smile.

"What?" Pete asked, out of breath, when he saw her face.

"We were so close to this last year, and now it's our romantic problems with other people that finally got us to this place," Addison laughed. "You've gotta love the irony."

Pete's fixed gaze reminded Addison of their current situation, as the smile slowly fell from her face and her eyes darkened. "I don't think this is the time to comment on irony, Addison," he said wryly. She opened her mouth to agree when Pete silenced her with another kiss.

It wasn't long before Addison's dress joined Pete's shirt on the floor.

**8D**

A few hours later, Addison lay upon Pete's chest, satisfied and smiling. They had gotten dressed again, and now Addison's head rested directly over his heart. She listened to the rhythmic beats as they collided with the steadiness of his breathing in perfect harmony, lulling her to sleep.

**8D**

It was eight-thirty the next morning when Dell walked into Oceanside Wellness. He disabled the alarm and started going about his routine, sorting through the mail for everybody and pulling up the files on their first patients.

Pete and Addison jerked awake when the alarm chirped, signaling it had been disabled. Addison slid off the couch—and Pete—and straightened her dress. "Okay, so how do we get out of here without Dell seeing us?"

"Well, for one," Pete started, sitting up, "you don't wear your heels when you try to sneak out." Addison froze halfway bent over. She had one of her stilettos in her hand. "And secondly, you tiptoe as fast as you can to the stairs."

"And what happens if he sees us?"

"He'll smirk and lock us in the Dell Vault again, probably," Pete joked. Addison slapped him on the arm.

"Will you stop it? I'm being serious!" she admonished, but Addison couldn't hide the smile that was working its way on her face.

"Look," Pete said, grabbing hold of each of Addison's arms, "I don't know what happens if Dell sees us. Just make sure he doesn't, and then we won't have a problem."

"Okay," Addison agreed. She poked her head out of her office to make sure the coast was clear. Dell still had his back turned toward her, so she and Pete started to walk as quietly as they could through the hallway toward the stairs.

"I saw your cars parked outside, you know," Dell declared, still not looking at the two doctors.

Addison looked at Pete and saw the same guilt she felt mirrored in his eyes. Brushing her hair out of her face, Addison summoned all the dignity she could muster when she asked, "What?"

Dell turned around to face them. "I knew you were here when I saw your cars parked outside."

"Well, technically, I drive a motorcycle," Pete clarified. Addison rolled her eyes at him.

"I don't think that's the main point he's trying to make right now," she said.

Dell took in their mussed up clothes and realized they were the same as from the day before. "Were you here all night?" He had a look in his eye that more than suggested what he was really asking.

"We fell asleep in my office," Addison answered, not letting Pete speak. "You had turned the alarm on by the time we woke up, and we didn't know the code." Pete opened his mouth to chime in, earning him an elbow in the ribs and a warning look from Addison. "So we waited until you came and turned off the alarm, and now we're on our way home to change." She started nudging Pete toward the elevator. "We'll be back soon."

As soon as the elevator doors closed, Pete started talking again. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Addison asked, searching for something in her bag and coming up with a compact mirror. She started to examine her appearance while Pete answered her.

"You didn't let me speak at all!" he said. "You just made it twice as obvious we were up to so--"

Addison cut him off with a gasp, slapping one hand to her neck and using the other hand to slap Pete on the arm. "You gave me a hickey!"

"Hey, stop hitting me!" Pete took hold of both her hands, keeping them at her side. "And personally, I like the hickey," he stated in a huskier voice.

"Why? Because it's definitely not professional to--" This time, Addison was cut off when Pete kissed her softly.

"Because then people know you're mine," Pete finally said, pressing the STOP button the elevator and kissing her again.

**A/N: So what did you think? Please review!**


	3. My Own Worst Enemy

**Perfume and Promises**

A **Private Practice** fic by Gigi

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except Season 1 on DVD.

Chapter 3: My Own Worst Enemy

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to ppplily for telling me to get off my heiney and keep writing!**

Addison looked at herself in the mirror, trying to steady her nerves. Twelve hours ago, she had been feeling absolutely abysmal because she couldn't have the man she wanted. Now, while she hadn't completely forgotten about Noah, she thought she might have completely stopped falling for him.

The redhead arched her neck to the right, checking to see that she had successfully hidden the hickey from last night under a few layers of foundation. When she was satisfied, she arched her neck to the left and set to work on the hickey that had bloomed this morning from her and Pete's make-out session in the elevator. Addison blushed just thinking that they had stayed in that elevator for ten minutes kissing like teenagers, and she prayed that Tilly hadn't come in for work at that time.

**XD**

Addison and Pete arrived to work at the same time, making polite conversation while waiting for the elevator. When the elevator doors opened to reveal an empty cabin, Pete wiggled his eyebrows at Addison, smiling.

Laughing at his flirting, Addison declared, "I think I'll take the stairs this morning." While she was walking away, she could have sworn she heard Pete murmur, "Or else you'll run out of make-up," under his breath.

**XD**

The smile that had been on Addison's face for most of the morning slid off her face when she became aware of another person in her office.

Noah stood when Addison entered her office, watching her happy expression turn into one of apprehension and discomfort. "Addison," he began.

"No," Addison forestalled, holding her hand up to keep him from talking anymore. "I can't do this anymore, Noah," she confessed. She couldn't bear to look in his eyes, knowing he would be using that lost puppy look her ex-husband had also employed when they were together. "I'm not going to be the woman who breaks up a marriage, who breaks up a _family,_ just because she is lonely. I told you before that I've been where you are, and I took that incredibly stupid step. I have regretted taking that step every single day since then. If I hadn't cheated, my husband would never have gone to Seattle; he never would have fallen in love with someone else, and we would still be married and living in New York. I still would have been in love and he would have had a chance to make up for his own mistakes. I'm the one who screwed up and made my life unhappy for almost two years. I was the culprit." Noah opened his mouth to say something, but Addison cut him off once again. "No, let me finish. I'm not going to let you take that step and ruin all you have going for you, not with me at least. From now on, the only involvement I have in your marriage is delivering _your child._ Other than that, I'm out."

"What changed?" he demanded a few minutes after Addison concluded her speech. "What changed in the time between when we talked and when Morgan came to see you?"

"For one, she thought we were sleeping together," Addison snapped, not bothering to go into the details. She just wanted him out of her office.

"What?" The heart surgeon looked visibly shaken.

"She thought we were sleeping together," she repeated. "Imagine how much pain that must have caused her. My heart wanted to break when I saw the woman who I had gotten so close to over the past few months suddenly look at me with such hurt in her eyes. I hated that you put me in that position."

"She...she knows?"

Addison wanted to hit him on the head with a medical dictionary. "No!" she yelled. "I didn't lie to her. I told her I was not sleeping with you, and you have no idea how thankful I am that I didn't." The OB/GYN thanked her stars that she hadn't while she walked across her office and held open the door. "Now, if you could please leave, I have patients," she requested softly, still avoiding eye contact.

Pete stood in the kitchen, watching Addison open the door and Noah trudge out, defeated. As soon as Noah hit the lobby, Pete darted out of the kitchen and to Addison's side, enveloping her in a strong hug while she cried silently into his shirt.

"That hurt more than I expected it to," she admitted, her cracked voice muffled by Pete's chest.

"I know," Pete comforted, rubbing her back softly.

"I couldn't even look him in the eye. I pretty much called him a horrible person and told him I was glad I never slept with him," Addison cried. She moved her hands from in front of her to around his waist and hugged him even tighter. "I should have let him fall on his own, instead of completely pushing him off the building. It hurts less that way."

Pete broke the hug and looked Addison straight in the eye. "If you let him fall on his own, you would have fallen right along with him. You had no reason to fall. He needed that push to realize he's being an ass to his wife. In a year, he'll thank you for not letting him make this mistake."

Addison nodded and hugged him again, her face resting on his shoulder. "You're good at the comforting thing, you know?" she whispered.

Addison felt Pete's entire body shake as he laughed and wrapped his arms around her. "I know."

**XD**

In the kitchen, Violet was reaching to get some yogurt from the fridge when she saw Pete embrace Addison. She knew they had grown extremely close in the last year, but never had she witnessed a more intimate interaction between the two. They were only hugging, true, but years as a shrink had taught Violet to see the difference between friendly comforting and the other kind of comforting.

**A/N: So I whipped this out in about an hour, so **_**please**_** tell me what you think? Should I write over more than an hour or was this pretty good quality? REVIEW!**


	4. Here

**Perfume and Promises**

A **Private Practice** fic by Gigi

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except Season 1 on DVD.

Chapter 4: Here

**A/N: I really should just have it written in the summary: DEDICATED TO PPPLILY FOR REMINDING ME WHY I WRITE FICS. And for kicking my ass into updating.**

_In the kitchen, Violet was reaching to get some yogurt from the fridge when she saw Pete embrace Addison. She knew they had grown extremely close in the last year, but never had she witnessed a more intimate interaction between the two. They were only hugging, true, but years as a shrink had taught Violet to see the difference between friendly comforting and the other kind of comforting._

Violet couldn't get that hug out of her head. Yesterday, Pete was declaring his love for her, making this grandiose speech about how he's not a guy who fights but he should have fought for her. _Yeah, because _that's_ how you fight for a girl_, she thought bitterly.

She knew that wasn't fair. She remembered that _she_ had been the one who turned him down—she got that. What she didn't get is how he was able to move on so quickly, and with a woman he'd never been able to start up a relationship with despite many attempts.

She knew that wasn't fair either. One of those attempts had failed because he'd been at Violet's house having a therapy session. Violet _could_ have been the bigger person back then and told him to confide in Addison instead. That way she'd know they weren't together just for the sex. But that had also been the night Cooper refused to have meaningless sex with her, and Violet had needed some comforting of her own.

Bringing her thoughts back to the current situation, Violet the Idiot turned to her good friend Violet the Therapist and asked for help.

Violet the Therapist said that the healthy thing to do would be to accept the relationship and let it go. Violet the Idiot responded with the fact that it had only been a day since he'd said he loved her. Violet the Therapist then pointed out the fact that it had also been a day since she'd eliminated any chance to be with him, so she had no right to feel jealous. Violet the Idiot insisted that it had still only been _one day._ Violet the Therapist sighed and gave her the cold, hard truth: this relationship had been a year in the making. Both Addison and Pete had some growing up to do before they were ready to actually be together; they had to go through their own pain and heal from older, deeper wounds before they could help heal the other's newer cuts. Violet the Idiot stormed out of Violet the Therapist's mind, and Violet the Therapist considered upping her hourly fee.

Violet buried her head in her hands. Being pregnant did not help the two Violets in her mind get along. It also made it painfully more obvious that she was one screwed up shrink.

**8D**

When the two separated from their embrace, Addison looked up at Pete through some hair that had fallen in front of her face. She wiped her cheeks of the few tears that had fallen and sniffed. "So what is this?" She gestured between them.

"This, us, this?" Pete clarified, rubbing her arms. Addison nodded. Smiling, Pete tucked her hair behind her ear. "We're together," he stated simply.

"Together as in a couple?" the redhead asked hopefully. This time Pete nodded. "Does this mean I get to kiss you in public?"

Pete smirked. "As long as you keep it PG," he answered, earning him a fake punch on the chest.

"Because _I'm_ always the one who makes it inappropriate," she replied sarcastically. "Very funny."

Wiggling his eyebrows like he had that morning, he suggested, "Wanna give it a try?"

"What if somebody sees?" Pete looked at Addison exasperatedly, and it took a minute for it to sink in with the board-certified neonatal surgeon. "Oh," she giggled, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around his neck. She pecked him softly on the lips and pulled away smiling. "I like that."

Pete laughed softly. "You're cute," he declared.

"Well, I aim to please," she bantered.

"That's what I've heard." That earned him another punch in the chest, only this one was more real than the last one. "I thought I told you to stop hitting me," he said, catching her tiny fist.

"Then stop making me want to," she shot back, fighting for her fist back. Pete, however, made it impossible to extract it from his hand. "Can I have my hand back?"

"Do you promise not to hit me again?"

"I promise I will not hit you for at least an hour," Addison complied. "That's the best I can do."

Pete sighed, "Fine," and returned Addison's hand back to its rightful owner. After rubbing it for a little bit, Addison looked pensive, almost worried. "What?"

"How are you going to deal with Violet?"

"What do you mean?"

Addison walked into her office and sat on the couch. "I'm not even worried about how you're going to tell her," she confessed, "although I probably should be since you told her you loved her _yesterday_ and all. What I'm worried about is what if the baby is yours?" Tears welled up her eyes as she went over their situation more and more in her head. "I see it every day. If the baby is yours, you're more likely going to want to be with Violet because she'll be the mother of your child, the one who brought this little human being that's partly yours into the world. What happens then?"

One of Addison's hands reached up and rested on his arm. "But how do you know? I know we're nowhere near the 'I love you,' stage in our relationship, but I still feel like I'm going to be left in the cold if you do find out you're the father."

"Hey, Violet and I would never work," he repeated sternly, giving Addison a small squeeze. "She doesn't talk to me, and I end up talking to you more than anyone. The sooner we both admit it, the sooner you'll be able to see that I'm not going to leave you out in the cold once this baby is born, no matter the paternity." He pulled away just enough so he could look her in the eye. "I'm _here._ Okay?"

Addison's eyes searched Pete's face for any indication that he believed what he was saying, and she found it. Smiling bravely, she wiped off the tear streaks from her face and nodded. "Okay." They shared another soft kiss, reassuring them both that it wasn't going to be like last time. When their faces separated once again, she laughed at herself. "God, you'd think _I_ was pregnant with how much I'm crying today." Pete's eyes widened in horror. Addison saw the panic in his eyes and quickly amended herself. "There's _no way_ I could be pregnant, Pete Wilder. We only had sex last night, and besides, I'm all dried up, remember?" she joked, citing the time she melted down in the stairwell after they'd first met.

Pete nodded, but he was completely spacing out. He wasn't afraid of being father. That wasn't what had him struggling to breathe normally.

They hadn't used _any_ sort of protection.

**A/N: I feel like I used to when I was writing a bunch of Luke and Lorelai fics. Suddenly, every fic has similar qualities. Addie's melting down, and now I decide to bring up pregnancy in all my fics haha. It's probably me just being paranoid, but I don't know. This was just a short update, again, I'm sorry, but I have a **_**great**_** new idea for a fic called Fun Days. Addisex with maybe a little Paddison thrown in. Look for it!**


	5. If I Told You

**Perfume and Promises**

A **Private Practice** fic by Gigi

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except Season 1 on DVD.

Chapter 5: If I Told You

**A/N: Again, ppplily is my reminder. And I totally realized that I accidentally deleted a paragraph in the last chapter, and it went from Addison speaking to Addison speaking again. My bad! It doesn't really mess up the flow, though, so I'm not going to fix it because I'm way too lazy. Okay, I'll stop babbling now. Next installment.**

_Pete nodded, but he was completely spacing out. He wasn't afraid of being a father. That wasn't what had him struggling to breathe normally._

_They hadn't used _any_ sort of protection._

That conversation in Addison's office had been all Pete could think about for the next thirteen days, and now he lay in his bed on a Monday morning, staring at the ceiling and wondering how he could have possibly impregnated two women within the same nine months. Addison had no idea what he was thinking, and he hadn't thought to burden her with his worries—except that she was one of the women he might have possibly impregnated.

Pete's hands moved to his face, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion. How was the alternative medicine guru supposed to help others with insomnia when he couldn't even put himself to sleep? He'd thought the hard part was over—telling people, especially Violet. He went to her and said he'd only said what he said because he didn't want to lose another person in his life, and that he was really glad she'd turned him down because they'd never make it. She had seemed kind of frazzled—okay, she had started muttering to herself, so more than _kind of_ frazzled—but she'd accepted it.

But how was she supposed to accept it if she found out that he'd gotten someone else pregnant? If Violet's baby was his, would he be allowed to be a part of his life or would she say that she didn't want him to be a bad influence on her son?

Pete couldn't stand it anymore. He had to know. Climbing out of bed, he got dressed and grabbed his wallet and keys with a purpose.

**8D**

Addison was in the middle of doing her hair when her doorbell rang. She looked over at her clock in confusion—7:45 a.m. Who the hell would be ringing her doorbell at 7:45 on a Monday morning?

Making her way downstairs with her hair half-straightened and half-curly, she opened the door to find her new boyfriend standing on the porch holding a paper bag and looking nervous as hell.

"Hey," she greeted, smiling. She stepped aside and let Pete in, bringing him in for a small morning kiss. "If it had been anyone else at my door, I would have yelled at them for interrupting my routine, but I'll make an exception for you."

Pete smirked as he let his hands rest on the small of her back. "Glad to know I've got an in," he declared.

When Pete's hands went around Addison's waist, the paper bag hit her lightly on her butt. Looking over her shoulder at the bag in his hands, Addison reached behind her and took it from him. "What's this?" she asked, opening it curiously. Puzzlement etched itself on her face as she took out the home pregnancy test. "A pregnancy test?"

The smirk slid off Pete's face. Time to fess up. "I wanted you to take it," he explained.

Addison let out a nervous laugh. "Why? We only had sex once, and that was wee--" Her mouth hung open as she replayed that night in her head. "W-We...We didn't use a condom, did we?" Pete slowly shook his head, his hands tightening on her waist. Addison's hands went up to her half-done hair, resulting in her face being half-hidden by the paper bag and box. "And I haven't been on the pill in a few months." Again, Pete shook his head, but at the same time he was slightly disturbed that he knew that. Sure, they'd been really close friends, but had they been _that_ close? "But, but, but I'm dried up!" she exclaimed in hope that saying it loudly enough would reinforce the diagnosis.

"But two eggs doesn't mean no eggs," Pete insisted.

"Right, right," Addison breathed out. She lowered her arms and stood there in Pete's arms holding the pregnancy test. Staring down at the little box in her hands for a minute, she realized it was still Monday morning. "I can't take this right now. I-I have to finish getting ready for work." She broke Pete's embrace and headed up the stairs.

"Addison," Pete started, but the redhead turned around on the fifth step to face him.

"Pete, I will take the test. Today," she told him, watching the tension escape his shoulders. "But I don't have time now, and I just need to wrap my head around it." Pete nodded. "Now, I'll be ready in another twenty minutes. Do you wanna make some breakfast?"

**8D**

Naomi was worried about her best friend. During the morning meeting, Addison kept losing her train of thought and even started _stammering._ Naomi knew Addison since med school, and she knew that Addison _never_ stammered.

Pete was acting awkward, too. His head seemed to be in a completely other place, and Violet actually had to snap her fingers in his face before he finally answered Sam's questions about a consult.

After the meeting adjourned, Naomi quickly started to follow her best friend. "What's up with you?" she questioned. Addison actually _jumped_ at the sound of her voice!

"What? What-What do you mean? I'm fine. I'm good. I'm all good," she rambled.

"You're babbling," Naomi ceded, "but you're not fine."

"No. I really am." Addison pushed the door open to her office and dropped her bag onto the couch so she could savor her coffee. Her face fell when she remembered she might be pregnant. Settling for an indulgent sniff, she set it down on her desk and faced her friend. "Why do you think something's wrong?"

Naomi didn't answer. Addison's bag had fallen open slightly when it had been tossed onto the sofa, and a white rectangular box became apparent to the fertility specialist. Reaching in and pulling it out, Naomi read the label. "You're pregnant?" She raised her head and saw Addison standing there looking guilty.

Addison fiddled with the belt of her jacket and avoided any kind of eye contact with Naomi. "I don't know," she confessed. "I might be. I haven't taken the test yet."

Crossing her arms, Naomi closed the door to the office. "Do you feel pregnant?"

Addison tried to ignore the smallest amount of hurt that had colored her friend's voice. Naomi probably thought that Addison refused to believe the slim odds for her to get pregnant. Sitting down on the arm of the couch, Addison finally looked up at Naomi, subconsciously putting a hand to her flat stomach. "No, but Pete showed up at my house this morning holding the test and reminded me that we hadn't used protection when we--"

Naomi's eyes widened. "Wait. Pete? You guys have already slept together?" They had only told the people of the practice they had decided to try the couple thing—nothing about having already consummated.

A huge sigh left Addison's lips. She might as well finish telling the story now the cat was out of the bag. "Yeah, it's kind of what started everything between us," she admitted. "And we didn't use a condom." Naomi didn't say anything. "What are you thinking right now? Are you mad it's Pete?"

Her questions snapped Naomi out of her daze. "I know this sounds mean and judgmental, but I'm actually sort of relieved it's Pete."

"How is that mean and judgmental?" Addison asked. She realized she'd been rubbing her stomach for the last five minutes and quickly stopped. Naomi stayed silent. "You thought it might have been Noah's?" She nodded, and Addison cursed her previous history with men. "Nae, I never slept with Noah. It never got that far, and I feel guilty enough with how far I went with him."

After a moment, Naomi returned her gaze to the small box in her hands. "So are you going to take the test?"

"Yeah, but I'm waiting until lunch. I still don't know how I feel about it," Addison answered.

"Are you going to keep it if it's positive?" Naomi went to sit beside the OB/GYN.

Addison opened her mouth to speak, but then her BlackBerry lit up and started buzzing in her hand. "Hold that thought," she told Naomi. Clicking the green button on her phone, she put it up to her ear. "Dr. Montgomery."

"Hey," a husky, manly, sexy voice that Addison would never forget greeted.

Addison's heart stopped. "Mark."

**A/N: I'm **_**so**_** evil. I apparently can't write a Private Practice fic without bringing **_**some**_** Grey's character from Addie's past down to spice things up. Don't worry, I'm not going to make this a Mark-Addison-Pete love triangle. I'll go ahead and tell you it's going to be more about Addison's past baby daddy and her maybe-future baby daddy. **

**I can't believe I just used the term "baby daddy." Twice.**

**REVIEW.**


	6. Once Upon a Time

**Perfume and Promises**

A **Private Practice** fic by Gigi

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except Season 1 on DVD.

Chapter 6: Once Upon a Time

**A/N: I remember how excited I was about writing this chapter when I'd finished writing Chapter 5, but I honestly can't remember **_**what**_** I was going to write. But hopefully, this will be just as good as whatever brilliant idea I had back then. You should probably thank ppplily every time this story gets updated. Seriously.**

"_Are you going to keep it if it's positive?" Naomi went to sit beside the OB/GYN._

_Addison opened her mouth to speak, but then her BlackBerry lit up and started buzzing in her hand. "Hold that thought," she told Naomi. Clicking the green button on her phone, she put it up to her ear. "Dr. Montgomery."_

"_Hey," a husky, manly, sexy voice that Addison would never forget greeted._

_Addison's heart stopped. "Mark."_

Addison's mind went into overdrive. Mark was calling her. Mark. The only man to ever have gotten her pregnant was calling her. One word was lodged in Addison's mind: shit.

"Yep, it's Mark," he confirmed, satisfied with the shock he heard in the woman's voice. "I'm in town for a few days doing a consult, and I wondered if I could see you."

Naomi was dying to know what was going on. She'd seen the blood drain out of Addison's face when she said his name in realization. She gestured for Addison to put the call on speakerphone, and Mark's voice filled the office.

"Um..." Addison looked to her best friend for help. She didn't know if she wanted to see Mark knowing that she might be pregnant again. Naomi shrugged. This was uncharted territory for her. "What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking maybe lunch, if you're free," Mark suggested. Addison's eyes flashed toward the box that still rested in Naomi's hands. She'd promised Pete she would take the test that day, but she couldn't if she met Mark for lunch.

But there was no easy way to tell Mark that she couldn't meet him because she was peeing on a stick, so she closed her eyes and accepted his offer. "Lunch would be great. How about Sandwich Shop on 6th Street at twelve thirty?"

"Great, see you there," he answered, hanging up.

Addison pressed the red button on her phone and looked up at Naomi indignantly. "Thanks for all your help, Nae," she said sarcastically.

"What the hell could I have done?"

Addison groaned and sat down on her couch, burying her face in her hands. "What am I going to do?"

"What do you mean?" Naomi sat down next to her.

"About the test. I promised Pete I would take it today, and now the lunch plan is out the window because of Mark deciding to drop in," Addison rambled.

Naomi looked at her watch. "You still have half an hour until your first patient," she noted. "You could take it now."

Addison brought her head up out of her hands. "I could," she agreed, biting her lip. "But I still have no idea what I'll do if it's positive. I was going to use the time until lunch to wrap my mind around it."

"Sweetie, if it's positive, you're going to have a lot to wrap your mind around," Naomi pointed out, "and you're not always going to have 'until lunch' to do that."

She had a point. Addison looked at her friend for a few seconds before realizing why she was being so mature about it. "You just want me to take it now so you'll know," she accused, and judging by Naomi's guilty expression, she was right on the money. Sighing, she took the box out of the fertility specialist's hand and muttered, "Fine."

**8D**

Addison sat on the countertop, clutching a timer in her hands. The knob was almost at the zero mark, but there were still twenty seconds left. She still had no idea what she wanted it to turn out as. If it was positive, she would have to go through all the crap she saw in her patients, and she would be twice as paranoid because she knew perfectly well how bad things could go. She also wouldn't have the world's best neonatal surgeon and OB/GYN to work on her because...well, because she'd be out of commission trying to force eight pounds of flesh out of her body. But she'd have a baby, a beautiful, bouncing, gurgling, chubby baby.

If it was negative, then she wouldn't have to go through with it ever, because this would probably be the last time she would even have to take the test before that lovely m-word kicked in.

_Ding!_

Although the timer finally sounded, Addison made no move to turn her head and look at the pregnancy test sitting on a paper towel on the counter beside her. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, taking deep even breaths and trying to convince herself that it was for the best. The contents of that "it," however, were still pending.

Opening her eyes just a sliver, she looked down at the test.

**8D**

Mark's perfectly chiseled face broke into a huge smile when he saw the familiar redhead enter the Sandwich Shop. Standing up from the table, he enveloped her in a giant bear hug.

"I've missed you, Addie," he declared. "It's really great to see you."

Addison pulled back from the hug and smiled softly. "I've missed you, too," she replied, and she realized that she wasn't lying. He had been her best friend for a long time, and she hadn't held up her end of the communication since she'd moved. "How have you been?" she asked, sitting down at the table.

"I've been pretty good, although I must say it's not the same when I don't see any red hair in a day," Mark answered with another goodhearted smile as he sat down across from her.

"Aw, so sweet."

A little bit later, once they had both gotten their food, Mark stopped eating and examined his companion. Her red hair had gotten lighter with the constant sun, and her skin was tanner. She looked beautiful, as always, but she still looked like something was bothering her.

Sensing Mark's eyes on her, Addison's pale blue ones flitted up to meet his and she stopped chewing. She laughed awkwardly and wiped her mouth with her napkin. "What?"

He scrutinized her a few seconds longer before shaking his head and returning to his food. "Nothing," he excused.

"Okay," she said slowly. "So you haven't told me anything about Seattle. What's going on in your life?"

"I'm seeing someone," he responded automatically. He knew her little game. She always pretended just to ask about his life in general, but years knowing her had taught him that she _always_ meant relationships. He looked up and saw a blindsided Addison.

"Really?" A hint of hurt crept into her voice. He openly admitted it to her that he was seeing someone, which implied that he hadn't cheated on her yet. "How long?"

Mark counted in his head. "About two months."

Two months. He used to insist that he was still in love with her, and that he would be different the second time around. Two months was all it took for him to sleep with three other women while Addison and he lived together. "Wow," she breathed, shell-shocked. "Who?"

Something was wrong. Addison was hurting, he could see that much. "Izzie," he stated. He watched her face break a little bit more, and suddenly it hit him why. He sounded committed to Izzie, and he had never been able to commit to Addison.

"Stevens? You're dating a twelve-year-old, too?"

Mark nodded. "She reminds me a lot of you," he explained, hoping that would help dull the pain.

"Except younger, blonder and with bigger boobs," Addison retorted, stabbing furiously at her salad. She had no idea why she was getting so upset. She didn't feel for Mark like that anymore, but she thought he'd still felt that way for her. Turns out, he still went for the hot girls.

"You really think that's the only reason why I'm with her?" Mark asked, incredulous. Addison looked up at him. "She's _just like you_, Addison! Only she actually _wants_ me."

Addison stopped whatever was going to come out of her mouth, because she realized she had no right to be upset. She turned him down, but Mark kept his promise about being different the second time around, just with Addison 2.0. And she wanted him to be happy. It's not like she was jealous of Izzie. _Damn hormones_, she thought to herself.

"What did you just say?"

Addison's eyes widened. She didn't mean for those two words to slip out. She was just thinking them. "Did I say something?" she asked, pathetically groping for an escape.

"I thought I heard you say something about hormones," Mark declared, peering into his friend's eyes. Was she...? No, she couldn't be.

But was she?

Addison stared at him for five seconds, trying to find some way she could talk her way out of this. She went through fifty plans a second and discarded them the next second. Sighing in defeat, she dropped her gaze to her lap and fiddled with her napkin.

"There's a chance that I reacted so dramatically just now because of my hormones," Addison mumbled.

She was. Mark leaned forward in earnest, needing to hear the words come out of her mouth. "What about your hormones?"

Addison looked up and cocked her head to the side. "I'm pregnant, Mark," she said almost inaudibly.

Mark sat back in his chair, floored. His eyes remained fixed on Addison's face as he continued bitterly, "Are you going to keep this one?" Tears came to Addison's eyes when she saw his gaze grow cold. Slowly, she nodded, biting her lip in anticipation. "I'm not hungry anymore," he announced, standing up and throwing some cash down onto the table.

"Mark," Addison began. She reached out to stop him from leaving.

"I'll talk to you later, Addison," he cut her off and walked out of the Sandwich Shop, leaving Addison sitting alone at the table for two.

**A/N: So this was supposed to have like eight more scenes in it, but I didn't expect the Mark and Addison scene to be so dramatic. I don't usually expect what I plan to write to ever actually make it into the story, but it's good to have goals. Or so I'm told. Okay, now REVIEW!**


	7. I Feel Everything

**Perfume and Promises**

A **Private Practice** fic by Gigi

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except Season 1 on DVD.

Chapter 7: I Feel Everything

**A/N: Wow, it's been an embarrassingly long time since I've updated this story! I'm sorry, guys! Thank cacooly and BandB4ever for reviewing yesterday and making me remember why I loved writing this fic. This one's a shortie, but enjoy!**

Addison trudged back to the practice after her disastrous lunch with Mark, still trying to process everything that had gone wrong with that conversation. She felt numb inside. She shouldn't feel numb. Shouldn't the fact that she was having a baby keep her happy _despite_ the fact that her best friend and ex-boyfriend almost certainly hated her?

Stopping dead in the doorway of her office, Addison gave herself a sizable whack in the forehead. How could she be such an _idiot_? She hadn't even told Pete about the test result and yet she'd already spilled it to Mark?

A headache was fast approaching, and quite frankly, there was no way Addison could deal with patients at the moment. She glanced at the clock and heaved a great sigh of relief at seeing she had a good hour to kill until her next patient arrived. Deciding to take full advantage of that hour, Addison dropped her bags off next to the couch and promptly plopped down onto it, burying her head in the soft pillows. What she needed right then was a nice, long nap.

Too bad she wasn't going to get it.

Naomi burst through the door of Addison's office literally three seconds after the redhead had shut her eyes in the hopes of some respite. Addison groaned into the pillow, but her best friend was not to be discouraged. "I take it the lunch didn't go well?" Naomi observed as she walked over to the couch and tugged Addison up by her arm.

"No, it did not," Addison mumbled. "What are you doing?" She had given up resisting the woman's efforts to move her from the couch and now stumbled along out the office and into an examination room.

"You, of all people, should know what I'm doing," Naomi replied wryly. She pulled Addison into the room and closed the door behind them, making sure the blinds were closed before she pointed to the table. "Lay down and pull up your shirt."

Far too tired even to protest, Addison allowed herself to be hustled onto the table, and before she knew it, Naomi was squirting ice-cold jelly onto her flat stomach. "It was awful, Nae," Addison exhaled, not bothering to twist her head to see the monitor. She trusted Naomi, and she needed to get used to _not_ being the one reading the sonograms or doing anything else with this pregnancy besides pushing out a baby. "Mark is dating a twelve-year-old."

The wand in Naomi's hand froze halfway to Addison's stomach. "Why does that make for an awful lunch? You're over him and _with Pete_," she stressed.

"No, no, that's not what made it so bad," Addison hastened to clarify. "It just started it. I guess I overreacted a little bit, because he said that Izzie Stevens is just like me only she actually wants him, which makes sense I guess. It's just that I guess I missed when he was still in love and chasing _me_, I don't know. All I know is that I accidentally let slip that I was pregnant, and it wasn't pretty."

Naomi's head whipped away from the monitor at that last sentence. "You told him you're pregnant?" she repeated in a somewhat strangled voice. "Have you even told Pete yet?"

Groaning, Addison brought her hands up to her head, covering her eyes. "No, and I feel terrible about that! And it didn't help that Mark got all offended that I want to keep this one when I aborted his, or the fact that he stormed off right after I told him," she finished. That headache had finally arrived, and it was taking the express lane on its way to making Addison's day just a little bit more miserable than it already was. When Naomi didn't say anything, Addison noticed a lack of movement on her stomach. Peeking out from underneath her hands, she saw her best friend looking apprehensively at the monitor. "What's wrong?"

"It looks like you got Mark upset for nothing," Naomi announced hesitantly.

Addison brought down her hands in shock. She couldn't say anything at first, and even after a few moments all she could say was a quiet, "What?"

"It might just be because it's so early on, but I think you got a false positive on your pregnancy test, Addie," she continued. She turned the monitor so Addison could see it. Addison wasted no time in craning her neck and peering into the screen, praying to see just a glimmer of an embryo, anything to indicate the presence of a future life.

"No," the redhead whispered. Tears sprung to her pale blue eyes, making them look like glass.

Naomi placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and offered her condolences, "I'm sorry, sweetie. I know how much you wanted this." Seeing the telltale signs of distress in Addison, Naomi quickly lifted her hand and began backing out of the room. "I'm going to go get Pete, okay?" Addison simply nodded in response, stubbornly refusing to let those tears escape her eyes.

Those tears remained in her eyes until those eyes fell upon Pete, who entered the examination room slowly and carefully. Judging from his expression, Naomi had filled him in on the gory details relating to the nonexistent pregnancy. He rushed to her side as soon as she let herself break down, hoisting himself up onto the table and cradling her in his arms.

"I…actually thought…I thought…" she cried into his chest.

Pete simply rubbed her back and tried to calm her down. "I know," he soothed. "I know you did."

**A/N: Damn, this has been getting more and more emotional with each passing chapter! I miss the light and fluffies, because it's not as draining to write those. Anyway, I hope this will be enough to tide you over until the next installment. I will not know if it will tide you over, however, unless you do something I would like to call REVIEW!**


	8. Penny

**Perfume and Promises**

A **Private Practice** fic by Gigi

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except Season 1 on DVD.

Chapter 8: Penny

**A/N: Okay, so I am thoroughly depressed with this fic now. Not because I haven't been getting enough reviews, and not because I think the story's anywhere near over. Quite the opposite, actually, because I actually have some idea of where I want this to go. But Addie and Pete broke up in the finale, and it made me really sad. I'd pick Paddie over Saddie any day. Just the couple names alone are enough to tell which one is clearly superior. Anyway, here's the next chapter, but I **_**may**_** be wrapping this up soon unless Shonda fixes this mess.**

It had been two weeks since the false positive, two weeks since Addison's very likely last hope for a baby of her own were dashed. For the first week after it all happened, she walked around the office like a ghost, going through the motions and doing everything mechanically. She saw half as many patients and chose instead to catch up on charting and piled up paperwork. Naomi and Pete both worried about the redheaded surgeon, who would come in with bags under her eyes and her hair tied up in a very short little ponytail, with wisps of red escaping at the nape of her neck.

The second week appeared to go smoother for Addison, or at least she put on a more convincing front. Her makeup and hair returned to their previous state of impeccable precision, and she went back to her normal workload. But every now and then, a flash of sadness would flit across those clear blue eyes.

Any and all calls made to Mark went unanswered, and Addison hated that he had gone back to Seattle still thinking she was pregnant. But short of actually following him up to set him straight—and thus jumpstart the Seattle Grace Hospital gossip mill to talking about her again—Addison could think of no way to let him know if he wasn't going to talk to her.

Sitting at her desk, Addison twiddled her thumbs while she stared at her phone, willing it to ring. She'd paged Callie ten minutes earlier, and she needed to talk to her if she was going to have any chance of salvaging her friendship with Mark. At long last, the little screen next to the receiver lit up with a blue light and a ringing sound blared throughout the room for less than a second before Addison jerked it up to her ear.

"Callie?"

"Addison, what's up?" Callie asked worriedly. "Mark has been one hell of a crabby plastic surgeon since he came back from LA. What happened?"

"Mark is really upset with me, Callie," Addison cried. "I've tried calling him, but he doesn't want to talk to me. I can't just up and follow him there; otherwise he and a few other people will get the wrong idea. I need your help."

"Alright, walk me through it," Callie complied. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Mark walking away from the nurses' station without having hit on a single nurse.

"You know how I aborted Mark's baby four years ago?" she began. After hearing Callie's confirmation, she continued, "And you know how I have fertility issues now?" Once again, Callie affirmed the statement. "Well, Pete and I are together now, and—"

"Wait, wait. Is this Stairwell Guy?" Callie interrupted, remembering when Addison had taken her vacation to LA when she still lived in Seattle.

"Yeah, Pete's the Stairwell Guy. He and I got together about a month ago, and the first time we had sex, we didn't use protection. So two weeks later, Pete shows up at my doorstep with a pregnancy test, and I took it. And that was the day I got the call from Mark wanting to have lunch. Anyway, I was sort of freaked out and kind of blurted that I was pregnant. He got really angry with me because I was going to keep this baby when I didn't want to keep his and left," Addison relayed. She took a deep breath, and her voice took on a grave tone. "Callie, I need you to tell Mark that I'm not pregnant. The test was a false positive. I was going to keep the baby because I honestly thought all hope was lost of having kids. He needs to realize that I can't have babies now, and so I jumped at the possibility that I somehow got pregnant. I miss my best friend, Callie."

"Oh, Addie," Callie sighed in sympathy. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Callie," Addison insisted halfheartedly. "I've resigned myself to that fact before. I can do it again, but only if Mark forgives me. I can't bear the thought of him hating me."

"Okay, I'll see what I can do," Callie offered.

"Thank you," came the relieved reply. Callie heard someone talking to Addison on the other side and waited patiently for her to return to the conversation. "Callie, I'm sorry but my patient just arrived. I've got to go."

"It's fine. I'll report back later," Callie said loyally before saying her goodbyes and hanging up. She turned around and scanned the hallway. Mark was going to forgive her best friend if it was the last thing she did.

**8D**

Addison went through the rest of her day mechanically. Her heart skipped a beat every time she heard the phone ring, hoping it was either Mark or Callie calling. It never was, and it was driving her crazy. She was so wound up that, when her two o'clock patient was a no-show, she felt no desire to complain. She just walked right on over to Pete's office and stuck her head in.

"You busy?" she asked the man sitting at his desk.

A small smile came to Pete's face as he beckoned her in. "Not at all. Come on in."

Addison sighed with relief, making her way to the couch and staring at him with a look that said he had about five seconds to sit next to her. He accomplished it in three. "What's up?" he prompted.

Addison snaked her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest, breathing deeply. "I just needed a hug," she said into his shirt. Puzzled, Pete wrapped his arms tightly around the small redhead.

"Any reason?"

"I called Callie today," Addison muttered. "She's going to try to talk Mark down enough to actually listen to me because he still thinks I'm pregnant."

Pete gave Addison an extra squeeze for comfort. "He's a _plastic surgeon_, Addie," he started, lacing the title with as much disdain as he could muster. To his great pleasure, a small chuckle escaped Addison's lips. "His own ego is what caused you guys to fight anyway. It'll take a while to deflate that thing, but, from what you've told me about Callie, he'll call."

Addison slid her head up his chest so that she could look him in the eye. "Although you definitely insulted one of my best friends,—" Pete grinned unabashedly—"you're good at the comforting thing," she complimented.

"I try," Pete responded modestly with a smirk that was anything but.

"Can we just sit here for a little bit longer?"

Pete rubbed her back soothingly. "We can sit here as long as you want. You know I'll always be here."

Closing her eyes, Addison burrowed her face in his chest once again. "Great, thanks."

**A/N: Okay, so it still took me six months to get this out, but Addison and Pete broke up in the show. It made me sad, and it was kind of painful to write for them after that. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. You know what to do! (REVIEW!)**


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